


Bench with a Seaside View

by kamiosusanoo



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, a bit of chat fic bc subaru and hajime use line messenger, and they go on a date, plus subaru's mom and daikichi, subaru and makoto hang out and play sm4sh, wingman makoto?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 01:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11220342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamiosusanoo/pseuds/kamiosusanoo
Summary: Subaru and Hajime enjoy a summer evening and realize their feelings for each other.





	Bench with a Seaside View

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote another subahaji fic, but you don't have to read it to enjoy this one! :)

Subaru rested his arms on the windowsill, watching on as fireflies floated outside. It was late August, and from being out in the hot sunlight all season, he had developed a considerable tan that really brought out his cerulean eyes. Summer was always Subaru’s favorite time of year, not just because of the long break from school, but also swimming, fireworks, watermelon, festivals; he adored all of the things and feelings of the season. His mind wandered, continuing to look out onto the street, until he heard a door open behind him.

“Something out there?” Subaru’s mom walked into the living room where he sat by the window, glancing over her son’s shoulder.

“Not really, just waiting for Ukki to come over. That ok?”

“Of course~ Yuuki-kun and your friends are all such nice young men!” his mom smiled. “Soon you’ll all be third years, huh?”

“Yep, and Trickstar… not just us, everyone has come a long way.” Subaru came to his feet, returning a sparkling smile. “I’m gonna give it my all until the end~”

“I don’t doubt you for a second!” she let out a small laugh, followed shortly by a wistful sigh. “You know, you really remind me of your dad sometimes…” her own deep blue gaze looked up into her taller son’s, both of their eyes reflecting from the dim light outside. “He would be so proud of you, Subaru, I just know it.”

Subaru returned a heartfelt look to his mom. “Well, I know he’s watching, so I gotta do my best…!” he turned to the window again, glancing up into the night sky.

“Ahh, my boy is gonna be a man before I even know it~” she exclaimed, ruffling her son’s hair, much to his embarrassment. “Soon enough you’re gonna have girls at your feet, if not already-”

“Mooom!” a flustered Subaru attempted to worm away, only becoming more trapped in affection when she wrapped her arms around him for a hug.

“Just don’t stay up too late with Yuuki-kun, ok?” she patted down some of his wildly tousled hair. “Work early tomorrow morning as usual, so off to bed I go~” his mom went off into another room, taking pins down from her dark hair as she closed the door behind her.

“Night mom, see ya in the morning.” Subaru replied, and then heard a twinkling sound coming from his pocket. He brought his phone out to see a text from Makoto, saying that he was close to arriving at his house.

Subaru bounded to his front door, still wearing his indoor shoes as he leapt outside.

“Akehoshi-kun!” Makoto gave a friendly wave as Subaru approached him. “Oh, your shoe-”

“Ukki!!” Subaru gave him a bold hug, causing his friend’s glasses to tilt off a little. “Agh, I forgot to change shoes, guess I was too eager~” Subaru dashed back into his house as quickly as he left it, flipping on the light switch once he got inside. He wrestled with his feet, then clapped his shoes together before hastily placing them back at the entryway.

“Ooh, your new TV is pretty nice!” Makoto followed his excitable friend through the doorway. “My TV is smaller than this one, so I figured your house would be better.”

“Yep, can’t wait to break it in!” Subaru looked on as Makoto set his backpack down on the table, pulling drinks, snacks, and video game items out of its pockets and arranging them on the living room table.

“I got orange ramune for you, and original flavor for me, and some chips!” Makoto smirked. “Though I dunno what flavor the chips are, my mom just had them in the house?”

“As expected of Ukki~” Subaru patted him on the back in thanks. “Now, uh, what’s the game you brought again?”

“The newest super smash brothers!” Makoto popped open his drink and took a sip. “Well, it’s really from 2 years ago, but I finally saved enough to buy it, heh.” his eyes glinted with satisfaction.

“Oh, I’ve actually wanted to play this too!” Subaru’s eyes sparkled. “If you texted me saying that, I would have been way too excited to see you~”

“I can’t imagine what that would’ve been like.” he laughed to himself, fiddling with the controller wires. “I’m gonna set it up now, okay?”

“Mmk~” Subaru channeled his excitement into scarfing down chips. They turned out to be barbeque flavor, but Subaru didn’t really notice the taste, even though it was one of his favorites. He was too absorbed in flipping through the manual he found inside the game box, captivated by the abundance of pictures and information.

“Ok, it’s all set up, wanna turn on the screen for me?” Makoto called, grabbing Subaru’s attention to do just that.

“And now lemme just select the game...” Makoto scurried back to the couch where his friend sat, handing Subaru a controller. “There we go!”

The two boys were drawn in from the start of the flashy game intro, until Makoto pressed the start button and navigated to the character selection screen.

“I already know which one I wanna pick!” Subaru rapidly moved his cursor on the screen. “I read some of that manual thing, so~”

“Oh, Pikachu?” Makoto worked to select his own character.

“Yeah, cause he’s the most shiny!” Subaru stated. “And hey, that guy kinda looks like Ukki, with the blonde hair? Cute~”

“That’s Toon Link, I usually play as him!” Makoto took another sip of his drink. “I mostly play fighting games, but I’m kind of a Zelda fan too.”

“Hm, yeah!” Subaru looked back at his friend. “So what do we do now?”

“Stage selection--ahh, there’s so many choices!” both of their cursors flew around the screen. “Wait, let’s just do random!”

“Works for me~” The screen went black, then they were transported to the Pirate Ship stage, which had many obstacles to navigate on top of fighting a common enemy.

“Ah, what the!” Subaru’s Pikachu darted frantically around the screen. “There’s so many CPU’s??”

“I wanted to try the new game feature that allows 8 players!” Makoto skillfully sliced the non-player characters with his sword. The difficulty was set a bit high, and Subaru fumbled with the controls a bit, but eventually the two finished the fighters off and won the round.

“That was great, this game is the real deal!” Makoto grinned. “Wanna try versus mode?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” The two of them continued to battle each other for an hour or so. Makoto mostly won, his speciality was fighting games after all, but Subaru was improving fast.

“Yess, my second win against master Ukki~”

“I’m far from that,” Makoto laughed sheepishly. “You’re just getting good.”

The two drank more of their sodas, taking a brief pause from the game. Suddenly, a twinkling sound rang, and Subaru’s phone screen flashed.

“So, another round?” Subaru suggested, seeming to completely disregard the notification, which caught Makoto’s attention. Makoto was feeling a bit mischievous, so he sneakily grabbed his friend’s cell phone from the table. He didn’t care much to see what was on Subaru’s phone, he was only curious to see what his reaction would be.

“Ahh, Ukki, give it back!” Subaru sprang at him to reach for it, his voice slightly panicked.

“Ok, ok~” Makoto quickly returned it, a little taken aback. “Something important?”

“Oh no, um, just a friend!” Subaru laughed tensely, looking at his phone for a second or two before shoving it back into his pocket.

“Whoa, what kind of text would make Akehoshi-kun react like that?” Makoto thought to himself. “I don’t think it would be from Hidaka-kun or Isara-kun. Besides, Hidaka-kun is probably asleep, since it’s midnight in Hawaii where he’s having his family summer vacation. And it wouldn’t be Isara-kun either, when I texted him earlier to ask him if he wanted to hang out and game with me and Akehoshi-kun, he said he had to go to his little sister’s recital tonight, and he wouldn’t be texting during that… or would he?” his mind was reeling.

“C’mon, another round~” Subaru’s smile had quickly returned, and he was nudging Makoto on the shoulder. “I wanna beat Ukki again!”

Makoto nodded, and they resumed playing. After Subaru won, he sighed, sounding restless.

“Oh, are you tired, Akehoshi-kun?”

“Ah, yeah, that must be it...” Subaru replied, the usual sparkle in his eyes looking ever so slightly dim.

“Akehoshi-kun, what’s up?” Makoto couldn’t help but be concerned for his dear friend. Trickstar had been through so much together through the past years, and each member greatly trusted one another, always sharing their ups and downs, or at least making an attempt to. He hoped that Subaru would share whatever was on his mind.

“Ukki, have you ever… had someone that just… agh.” he flopped down on the couch.

“Hmm, not sure what you mean?” Makoto questioned, confused at his expression. “Are you in a disagreement with someone?”

“Oh no, it’s not that at all! I’m just…” Subaru stared into the ceiling. “Not really sure what I’m feeling, I guess.”

Makoto turned his gaze away from Subaru, grabbing his soda from the table. He became quiet, waiting to see if his friend would continue.

“I love you, Ukki, and Trickstar, you’re all special to me, that kinda goes without saying! And of course I love mom and Daikichi, but…” he put a hand on his chin. “I love another person too, but somehow, it feels different from the other ones...”

Makoto glanced over at Subaru, eager to know more.

“Sorry I acted weird with the phone earlier, being secretive with Ukki is no good~” he looked apologetic. “It was just a message from, well um... You know Shinonon, right?”

“Ah, yeah!” Makoto answered. “Isn’t that the 1st year, ah, well, 2nd year now, from Ra*bits? I used to hear about him from Nito-senpai in tennis club.”

“Yep, that’s him~” Subaru gave a small smile. “He’s the one who sent me the message, that’s all.”

“Oh, for real?” Makoto blinked, a little surprised.

“Yeah, we’ve been hanging out some this summer.” Subaru looked to the window. “I guess it’s like, we’ve always been close, but lately I feel like I’m thinking too much?”

“About what?” Makoto sort of knew where he was going, but inquired nonetheless.

“Myself and Shinonon…” Subaru bit his lip. “I kinda get nervous about talking with him, and like, I just wanna... do everything right. Like, before I just felt more confident.”

“Well, it sounds to me like you might have feelings for Shino-kun, then?”

“Uwah!” Subaru’s eyes went wide, visibly shocked. “If, if that’s the case, I never thought of it! Ah, I just dunno what to do with myself, Ukki...” he lamented, flopping around again.

“Well, I’ve never been too good with talking and stuff… But yknow Akehoshi-kun, you actually have a lot of charm!” he gave a reassuring smile. “I think you should believe in yourself, and not worry so much about messing up. And even if you do make a mistake, I think it could be endearing! I mean, that’s like the role I play in Trickstar lives and stuff, so I know.”

“Ukki!” Subaru’s smile was back again like it never left, and he hugged Makoto for the second time that evening. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“Don’t mention it~” he laughed meekly, feeling warm in his friend’s arms. “Just talking about that kinda thing makes me a little jealous, like I’d want someone in my thoughts like that, heh.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that!” Subaru grabbed his shoulder. “Ukki isn’t just a pretty face, he’s smart too! So I bet that someone would love you first, before you even had a feeling yourself~”

“Akehoshi-kun…” Makoto now felt hot under Subaru’s fiery gaze and words of encouragement. “I’m lucky to have a friend like you, not to mention Isara-kun, and Hidaka-kun too!”

“Yeah, wish they were here tonight too.” Subaru took his drink from the table and finished it off.

“Oh man, the time!” Makoto glanced at Subaru’s wall clock. “I better get home before my mom calls me or something.”

“Oh yeah, it is late now.” Subaru went to help unplug the gaming equipment and see his friend out, disposing of their food trash on the way to the door.

“Akehoshi-kun, good luck with Shino-kun, okay?” Makoto called out, waving to his friend as he walked down the road that he came from.

“Thanks Ukki, see ya again soon!” he smiled and waved back, then scurried back inside to hop onto his bed and open his phone messenger, his heart pounding.

\- LINE chat -

lavenderhajime: just got back from work, soo tired (_ _).｡o○

lavenderhajime: good evening akehoshi-senpai!

shinystarsubaru: whoa, shinonon must work late! what kinda job?

shinystarsubaru: and i’m sorta late msging back, my bad! good evening to u too shinonon ☆彡

shinystarsubaru: but tired shinonon is no good? we can chat more tmrw if u want!

lavenderhajime: no it's fine senpai!! I have the next day off (*^_^*)

lavenderhajime: and i’ve started a new job at a conbini, they have pretty late hrs sometimes~

shinystarsubaru: that’s good!! does shinonon have any plans? :D

lavenderhajime: hm, not really... my friends from ra*bits have been busy for the past week (*´-`)

shinystarsubaru: well, shinonon shouldn't be lonely on his break~

shinystarsubaru: how about going into town with me? there's a new ice cream vendor ♪

lavenderhajime: oh I didn't know about that! I'd love to ♪( ´▽｀)

shinystarsubaru: yay! \o/ wanna meet up anywhere?

shinystarsubaru: how about later, since it’s soo hot in the day ‘:o and the stand is open late!

lavenderhajime: hm, good idea! and maybe in front of the fountain in the square (・・?)

shinystarsubaru: sounds good to me ☆

lavenderhajime: i’m excited! see you then~

lavenderhajime: and goodnight!

shinystarsubaru: night shinonon, rest well ok!!

lavenderhajime: yes, same to you too akehoshi-senpai (o^^o)

~~~

Hajime clutched the sides of his shorts as he sat by the fountain’s edge. He could feel droplets of water splashing against his back, but he didn’t mind them, in fact, he rather enjoyed the cooling sensations. The young man smiled gently, looking on as kids raced around the fountain, which reminded him of his own two younger siblings. On a day off from his part-time job, he would typically be looking after them, but Hajime curtly explained to them earlier that he had somewhere important to go this evening. Kids being curious, they asked to know more about where he was going, which made Hajime flustered. But he tried to conceal it, and ended up making a white lie on the spot about how he was going to meet up with his friends from tea club. Whether or not they believed him, Hajime wasn’t sure, but in the end they managed to stay at a friend’s house down the street and have a sleepover. Hajime sighed, remembering that ordeal and also the chores he had done that day, and started to a bit feel tired. Then Hajime’s mind went to Subaru, the reason that he sat by the fountain in the first place, and he felt energy return to him. He clutched the sides of his shorts a little tighter, watching people go about in the town square. Hajime had decided to leave his lavender pouch at home that day, so he felt vulnerable, but Subaru always seemed to have a way of making his heart feel lighter.

“Shinonon!” Hajime reacted to the cheerful voice he knew so well, now standing up and searching for the face behind it.

“Behind you~” Subaru tapped him on the shoulder. Hajime was startled at first, but then happiness enveloped him when Subaru wrapped him in a hug.

“A-Akehoshi-senpai,” Hajime put his hands on Subaru’s chest, pushing away a little without realizing. “Good evening!"

“Good evening Shinonon~” warmth stayed on Subaru’s chest where Hajime’s hands were. They were in a public area with a good amount of people, and Subaru knew how Hajime felt about crowds. He was happy that Hajime agreed to meet with him, and he wanted to be even more touchy-feely, but made a mental note to keep more to himself, at least until there were less people around.

After separating from the hug, Hajime was startled yet again to look down and see Daikichi, sitting obediently from a long leash in Subaru’s hand.

“Ah, my bad Shinonon!” he apologized. “It should just be us together, but I remembered that my house is getting renovated, and I can’t leave him at home or he’d get in the workers’ way.”

“Oh, don’t worry Akehoshi-senpai,” Hajime kneeled down to pet the small dog, giggling as it licked his hand. “He’s such a cute little guy!”

“Yep! And it looks like Daikichi is a fan of you, that makes two of us~”

“Well, I’m Daikichi’s fan too!” Hajime stood up to face him again, smiling. “So, I’m guessing you know where the place is?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” the pair began walking side by side, Daikichi a few feet ahead of them.

Hajime walked absentmindedly for a bit, then glanced up at Subaru. “Oh, his tan looks nice…” he thought to himself. “I’m guess I’m too fair-skinned to have much of a tan, even this late in summer.”

It was a brief walk to the stand, and the closer they came, the more Hajime began to recognize the worker behind the window.

“Oh, ‘zat Hajime-kun?” Mika called out. “And, erm… Akehoshi-kun, from Trickstar, ‘s it?”

“Hello Kagehira-senpai,” Hajime waved. “You found a part-time job here, I see!”

“Yep, it’s a pretty interestin’ one too. We got lotsa tasty stuff to offer, so here’s a menu for ya both~”

“Oh, wow!” Hajime opened the menu for one or two seconds, then closed it. “Akehoshi-senpai, I think I’ll get the cotton candy flavor.”

“Whoa! You already read the menu?” Subaru was in awe.

“Well, my speciality is speed-reading after all.” he giggled. “What are you thinking of ordering?”

“Hm, lemme see here…” Subaru took a bit longer to filter through the flavors to choose from. “Oh, peach flavor sounds really good~!”

“Gotcha, that’ll be comin’ right up.” Mika reached out to take the two menus back and closed the stand window. It was only a few moments before he popped out again, holding the cones.

“Cotton candy and peach, here ya go!”

“Thanks!” Subaru reached up to get Hajime’s cone and hand it to him, then retrieved his own. “How much is that gonna be?”

“A-Akehoshi-senpai,” Hajime gasped. “I can help pay too!”

“C’mon Shinonon, this one’s on me~” he patted Hajime on the shoulder and handed Mika a small bill, Mika handing him back some change which he tossed into the tip jar.

“Thank ya kindly!” Mika waved goodbye to the pair, watching as they walked off towards the seaside part of town.

“I know a nice place where we can sit too, from when Trickstar had a live a while back!”

“Akehoshi-senpai…” Hajime looked down at the cone in his hand. He tried not to focus his mind on how nice Subaru was being to him, or he might lose his own footing as they walked. “That’s near the seaside, right?”

“Yep, I take Daikichi for walks there sometimes too and it’s really nice.” Subaru replied. The two of them strolled through a path with a few trees, until they arrived at a bench which overlooked the beach at a scenic viewpoint.

“Akehoshi-senpai, this view, I…” his voice failed him. Hajime gazed toward the setting sun as it shone onto the sea, making it shimmer brilliantly. He could see people, children running along the sand below them, but around the bench area, it was only them.

“I know, right?” Subaru sat down at the corner of the bench, biting off more of his cone. He patted beside him, a motion for Hajime to sit down.

Hajime’s throat felt tight, but even so, he continued eating more of his cone.

“Ice cream and the ocean, this is what summer’s all about~” Subaru looked out again into the distance, then back down to Hajime. “What do you think, Shinonon? Do you like it?”

Hajime’s lips tightened into a line as Subaru waited for an answer. “Shinonon…?” Subaru asked, curious as to why Hajime appeared to be focusing so hard at the horizon.

“Akehoshi-senpai…” he couldn’t stop himself from choking up, tears running down his cheeks.

“Shinonon!” Subaru was panicked. “What’s wrong?”

“I-I’m sorry for crying,” Hajime sniffled as he spoke. “It’s just that, this ice cream is so delicious, and, no one has ever bought something for me like that... because I’m poor and all.” he used his shirt sleeve to dry his tears as he continued. “And this place is so nice... it just feels like a dream.”

“Well, one thing I hate is when Shinonon cries, but I’m glad that it’s because you’re happy this time!” Subaru put an arm around Hajime’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. “I’m glad that Trickstar had a seaside live, or else I would’ve never known about this place.”

Hajime looked back up at Subaru attentively.

“It was really hot that day, and my uniform got so sweaty...” he laughed. “I remember Hokke being strict about us drinking a ton of water, and Sari had to cut back on breakdancing because the stage was too hot to touch. Ukki could barely see from the sweat in his eyes, but somehow he managed to perform better than he ever had before. And the producer brought us all watermelon at the end, so our hard work felt totally worth it~”

After telling his short story, Subaru sighed in relief upon seeing that Hajime’s smile had returned. As Hajime finished the last bits of his ice cream, Subaru noticed something else too, a bit of cotton candy flavor stayed at the crease of his smile.

“Um, Shinonon, you’ve got something there…” he reached his finger down and unknowingly cupped his cheek as well, causing Hajime to turn towards him with wide eyes.

Throughout the evening, neither of them had really made eye contact until that moment. When Subaru met Hajime’s lavender eyes, he felt enchanted, like he could stare at him forever. “His hair is longer, I didn’t even notice, and is that a tiny braid...?” he reached out to touch it.

When Hajime met Subaru’s eyes, he felt as if a bright blue flame was burning through him. The color reminded him of his cooking stove burner, except this flame was different, it clouded his mind and made his face feel hot. They were close in distance already, but Subaru pulled a bit on his braid, tilting his head so that their lips could meet.

Hajime felt as if he would melt into the ground if he didn’t grip his free hand on the back of the bench. Their lips met only for a few seconds, until they were abruptly jerked apart. Their eyes were both still closed shut when a furry mass wriggled in their lap, and Hajime’s hand suddenly felt soaking wet.

“D-Daikichi!!” the mischievous dog had snatched the remnants of Hajime’s waffle cone from his hands, right underneath both of their noses. “Bad dog!” Subaru leapt up from the bench, now madly chasing after Daikichi into the forest.

Hajime looked down at his hand, now wet with dog slobber, then looked back at Subaru wrestling in the trees, and couldn’t help himself from bursting into laughter.

After a few moments, Subaru eventually returned to the bench, holding a squirming Daikichi in his arms. “Shinonon, I’m so sorry… my dumb dog ruined our evening.”

“No, he’s not dumb!” Hajime breathed, trying to compose himself from his laughing fit. “I love your dog, Akehoshi-senpai; I love you.”

Subaru’s breath hitched, and he almost dropped Daikichi onto the ground.

“Shinonon!!” Subaru hurried to put Daikichi back on his feet, and made sure to keep the leash tightly in his hands this time, running to hold Hajime in his arms again. “I love you too~!”

“I don’t have to be home tonight, so…” Hajime looked shyly to the side. “Do you think we could sit here for a little while longer?”

“You bet!” Subaru returned to the bench, sitting close to Hajime again. “And don’t worry Shinonon, next time we kiss, Daikichi won’t be involved~”

Hajime blushed, trying not to go into another laughing fit remembering it all. “I’ll look forward to that, Akehoshi-senpai.”

~~~

Hajime came home to an empty house that night, almost toppling through his front door. He felt exhaustion in every part of him, but collected his last ounces of strength to hop into the shower. As he towel-dried his hair, Hajime ran his fingers through sky blue strands, looking at himself in the mirror. His hand stopped to hold the tiny braid that his sister happened to create earlier. Hajime remembered how Subaru’s hands had touched it that afternoon, and then put a tiny hairband around the braid, not wanting it to fall out. Filled with spirit again at the thought of Subaru and the evening they shared, Hajime grabbed his sketchbook and sat down to his desk, using pencils to draw up his memories. It was something that Hajime would never forget, the bench with a seaside view.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my second subahaji fic, bringing the tag up to a whopping 5 fics :'D I used lots of canon facts and stuff as help for writing like I did for my last subahaji fic, and put lots of love into it <3 so thank you so much for reading!!


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